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tv   Journal  KCSMMHZ  November 14, 2012 2:30pm-3:00pm PST

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>> welcome to the "journal" coming to you from dw in berlin. >> southern europe goes on strike. >> elections chinese-style. the communist party votes for its new central committee as beijing's political transition moves ahead. >> picnics in persia -- a photographer explores the quiet defiance of everyday life.
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"stop these suicidal policies" -- that was the message from one spanish union leader as millions joint strikes this morning across southern europe. >> it is being called a european day of action and solidarity, and its target is the austerity that is sweeping the region. >> unions say the spending cuts and tax hikes are condemning their countries two years of recession and massive unemployment. >> in a moment, we will get the reaction from brussels and go live to madrid, but first, this report. >> protesters have come to vent their anger, and from early on, by a police in spain were braced for a long day -- riot police in spain were braced for a long day. unemployment stands at 25% in spain, the highest in the
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european union. every week brings fresh job cuts, and frustration is growing. spain's economy is set to shrink by another 1.5% this year. there were similar scenes in several metro stations where hundreds of protesters face rows of officers. metro services have been largely suspended, and only 20% of long- distance trains are running. schools and many shops are also shut down. spain's general workers union says the nationwide stoppage is being observed by nearly all workers in the automobile, energy, shipbuilding, and construction industries. >> they are taking all our rights away -- all our rights. the banks and other business people are bringing us onto the streets. they are stealing our salaries. we do not have any rights anymore. >> hundreds of flights have been canceled across europe. in the portuguese capital,
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lisbon, many face long waits with nearly half of all flights canceled. >> we arrived at 9:00 in the morning, and we have to wait until 9:00 in the evening. public transport is not working, either, so we are stuck. it is a shame. >> access to ferry service has also been blocked. >> we are witnessing the biggest strike portugal has ever seen. it also has a special significance because it is the first time spanish and portuguese workers are conducting a strike on the very same day. >> strikes are under way in greece, italy, and france, and railway workers in belgium have also walked off the job for 24 hours, affecting both domestic and international services. >> let's go live down to spain now. miles thompson joins us on the
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line from madrid. what is the latest? >> well, there have been a number of demonstrators, but at the moment, i am on the streets, and it is relatively quiet. as a whole, there were many shops that close, especially smaller businesses, but life can at least continue without disturbances if there are many people working at the moment. >> the rhetoric is getting quite stronger. as we heard, one leader there is calling austerity a suicidal policy. how widespread is that, do you think? >> what we have to be careful about is separating support for the trade unions and general anger among the population. certainly, what the trade leader -- what the trade union leader does ring true with a
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large number of people unemployed at the moment and an economy in deep recession, but at the same time, there are people who really actually are struggling with their day-to-day lives. this was causing a lot of disruption for people who are struggling to keep jobs in a country where you now have 26% unemployment. >> thank you very much for joining us from madrid, miles johnson. let's go over to brussels now for the reaction. we've been hearing from spain. many other countries are joining today's protest. how worried is brussels about this massive pressure coming from the streets today? >> talking to commission officials, of course, they are taking note, watching with interest, watching with concern that a series of strikes could turn into serious rebellion on the streets. we have already seen this in athens to an extent, but this kind of concerted union action
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could turn very nasty indeed. having said that, the message is -- what are we to do? if we do not impose austerity on those we are helping to bail out, how do we guarantee that we can finance greece, may be spain, may be portugal again, may be italy -- maybe greece, maybe spain, maybe portugal again, maybe italy? both firms saying there is no alternative, and they must impose restrictions and cutbacks if they are expected to provide billions in bailouts to countries such as greece. >> where is the debate then on member states? angela merkel is the leader who is most associated with austerity as a policy. francoise hollande in france came to power on a wave of anti- austerity. where is the debate? >> francois hollande gave a long
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interview to a newspaper only last month, saying that the traditional franco-german motor driving the european union is set to stall because of these deep divisions over what to do, but even he -- even francoise hollande, if you look at him, he is imposing austerity measures in france as well. christine lagarde at the intenational monetary fund would say that the idea is for creditors to take a hit so ordinary workers do not have to suffer too much, but it is a horrible balancing act. yes, the commission is taking note of what is happening with great concern but does not offer any alternative to deep austerity as the beginnings of getting out of this economic crisis. >> certainly a frustrating situation all around. thanks very much for that. >> let's stay in brussels for a moment because the eu is taking action to boost the number of women in leadership roles in business.
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>> the european commission says that big companies should have 40% of their board seats occupied by women by the year 2020. >> it is a controversial plan that still has some hurdles to get past, but the women who masterminded the move says it is no position and in fact would make business sense -- it is a controversial plan that still has some hurdles to get passed. >> the justice commission are fought long to push her proposal through the eu's executive body. now, publicly listed firms in europe will need to have women in at least two out of five positions on their supervisory boards within eight years, an overdue correction. >> that is why we do not burden the companies. on the contrary, we help the companies to choose the best talent because it is not normal that we do have, as is the european average today, a defective -- the fact 85 mail
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quota -- de facto 85 male quota. >> we will turn every stone to make full use of our talents in order to create sustainable economic growth and to help european enterprises perform as well as possible. this is the objective of this proposal. >> the measure still has to be passed by the european parliament and by eu member states and could face some stiff resistance. >> on to other news. a week after america elected barack obama for another four years, china is going through its own political transition, and it certainly could not be more different. >> instead of a messy, unpredictable election campaign, this one is a carefully planned handover from one generation to the next, and it does seem to be going to plan. >> today, the new leader of the
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election committee will be appointed, and from there, he will soon will power as china's next president. >> everything on the closing day was perfectly choreographed to give the impression of harmony, including the voting and the applause. there was not much to argue about anyway. most of the key personnel changes had been cleared in advance of the congress. the vice president was elected to the central committee. he takes over as party chief. in march, he will succeed hu jintao as party president. >> we should free up our minds and implement reform policies. we must pool our strengths, overcome difficulties, and move forward all along the path of chinese-style socialism. >> the vice premier also joins
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the central committee. he is set to become the mayor's premiere in march. the country's new leadership faces great challenges as china continues to grow more powerful economically and politically. the civil war in syria is just one example of how beijing can exert its influence. they will also have to address domestic issues such as income disparity, environmental pollution, and corruption, to name just a few. on thursday, the party will unveil the new bureau and standing committee, the party's innermost during a power. that will complete the changing of the guard at the top until the next party congress. >> in business news, rwe has released quarterly results. germany's second largest power company has posted strong profits despite the slowdown in the eurozone. >> the biggest competitor eon
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shocked investors yesterday, but rwe is having no such problems. the company says it is having a good year, despite germany was a switch to more renewals and the debt crisis. in fact, rwe has raised its forecast for the year as a whole. >> for more, let's bring in our markets correspondent, who is standing by on the floor of the frankfurt stock exchange. how are investors reacting? >> the stock price of rwe is trading slightly lower, but that is nothing compared to the 10% lost of eon posted yesterday, and this is not the only difference between the two large german utilities. eon invested heavily into european expansion, buying participations in italy and spain. during the last of your years, a
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turnout the price they had paid was far too high. rwe on the other hand managed in time to get rid of most of its unprofitable participations. >> how about the mood in the overall market? >> it is not very good. people here in the trading halt are watching the pictures of the general strikes all over europe. these pictures come along with their - economic data. the factory output, for example, in the eurozone in september declined by 2.5%, the strongest decline within one month since the beginning of 2009. this is what the market is making out of this. the euro stocks 50 index -- the euro stoxx 50 down, and the euro trading at a bit more than
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$1.27. >> more bad news for toyota. the company is recalling nearly 2.8 million vehicles because of two separate problems. >> and defects 13 different models including the popular prius hybrid. this time, the move concerns a defect in the steering shaft and problems with the water pump. toyota says no injuries or accidents have been reported. well, one of the world's most famous diamonds has sold at auction for nearly 17 million euros. it is named after the archduke yosef, its former austrian owner. >> the 76-carat diamond, which is described as internally flawless, came from ancient mines in india. it sold to an anonymous telephone bidder. it is the highest price per carry -- carat ever paid for a colorless diamond and well above
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the pre-sale estimate. >> we have to take a break, but when we come back, we will hone in on a country where the cash is not flowing so readily -- spain. >> after the break, we will touch on another challenge. >> that's in a minute.
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>> welcome back. the spanish government might soon have another problem to add to its plate. recent polls show that more than half of the citizens in the catalonia region want to break away from spain all together. >> if the party wins in elections, it could put more pressure on madrid for independence. catalonia is located in the country's northeast. its economy is strong, especially when compared to the rest of the country. many citizens and business leaders feel they are contributing more than they are getting back from their government. >> barcelona, the capital of catalonia, is an economic
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powerhouse. the regional push for independence is not just about ideology -- there's a lot of money at stake. many say a lack of investment by the central government is holding them back. more containers must be transported by truck compared to other european ports. >> the integrated rail network is a big deficit. it is not designed to transport goods. it's junctions are inflexible, and its stations cannot accommodate longer free trains. >> the spanish transport ministry in madrid is supposed to sort out problems like this, but it has been focusing on high speed rail connections to and from the capital. the european rail freight lobby group says there are huge problems along the mediterranean. >> along a more than 40-
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kilometer stretch, there is only one track. it is a real bottleneck. but the worst thing is that in the coming years, the government's plans continue to neglect this corridor along the mediterranean. only 18% of investments go to a region that contains nearly half of spain because the economic might. >> another major difference here from the rest of spain -- the toll roads in catalonia. during the franco era, toll roads were the only way to finance major infrastructure, highways built elsewhere since spain joined the eu are mostly free. catalonia has nearly three times as many toll roads as the madrid region. >> that creates additional costs and a competitive disadvantage, especially for those who live along the mediterranean coast or in the north. in other parts of spain, there are no toll charges.
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>> catalonia already pays more to the central government than it receives in investments, but the cattle on -- catalan central government says it is not just about money. >> and is much more likely we could emerge successfully from these tough economic times if we had had yet our own disposal, and of not talking about money. for me, it is more about freeing ourselves from the constraints imposed by national legislation. >> with spain's economic situation worsening daily, the debate over catalonia's status is likely to intensify. >> coming up, we will get a peek at everyday life in iran and have the smallest things can be an act of defiance. >> first of all, here are other stories making news. syrian aircraft have continued air raids against rebel positions in a town near the
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border with turkey, the third day in a row that the town has been bombed. dozens of residents have fled into turkey. heavy fighting was also reported in the syrian capital. >> at least 14 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a series of bombings across iraq. police said at least six devices exploded in baghdad and kirkuk on the eve to mark the best is these -- the festivities. >> the defense raised questions about robert bales' psychological problems and possible alcohol and drug use. he could face the death penalty. >> united nations has reviewed it demand for the u.s. to lift its embargo on cuba. the general assembly voted overwhelmingly to adopt a non-
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binding resolution calling for united nations members to consider the embargo illegal. only the u.s., israel, and an island state voted against. >> rome has been put on alert as the flooding has now reached the country's capital. >> meanwhile, people are beginning to clean up. the extent of the damage from the record flooding is becoming apparent. >> there was no rain on wednesday in central italy, but that was a small consolation to those affected by damage from the flooding. some areas in the region have not seen flooding is bad for 200 years. but back then, the river valleys were not built up. >> i have never seen anything like it. completely unexpected. it is breaking us. >> the regional governor of tuscany has blamed climate change for the catastrophe and said the flooding could get worse in the future.
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farmers are worried that crops could fail. the tiber valley has been particularly hard hit. >> i have suffered huge damage. the feed for my livestock has been destroyed, as has my harvest. even my garden got washed away. >> cleanup operations are under way. three people died here in their car when a bridge collapsed. floodwaters have now reached the italian capital. the island across from rome pose a synagogue is now almost completely under water. tunnels are flooded. many streets and some train stations have been close. experts say the river will crest in the next few hours. >> back to iran now where religion dictates politics and social behavior and the district i of an islamic state.
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>> a new exhibition opening today shows how ordinary citizens to find ways to express themselves in their everyday lives. >> the german photographer fines even a family picnic can be its own small act of defiance. >> at first glance, the scenes look mundane -- two sisters traditionally dressed, a couple in the mountains outside tehran, two young women at a highway rest stop. >> the image we receive of iran -- i just wanted to check it out for myself in my own subjective way. >> she spent three weeks traveling through iran in september, using her camera lens to determine how much a daily life is -- how much daily life is affected by their oppressive rule. her photographs captured iranians enjoying a picnic, a hugely popular activity in the country.
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under closer inspection, the pictures reveal the many ways in which people subvert the rule -- young women burial -- barely covering their hair, a young married couple drinking in college together, two young women smoking and fashionably dressed -- all are doing something forbidden, but they all look into the camera relaxed, happy, curious. the photographer was able to move around the country freely for the most part. only in the holy city was she not allowed to take pictures. that is where she realized the power of the cleric's -- clerics. >> the thing that really impressed me and for which i was really grateful was the visit to the holy city because it kind of with the way the rose colored glasses. it was quite impressive for me there. i saw who was really in power.
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>> some of the photographs may not be technically perfect, but they -- but she has succeeded in capturing the subtle ways in which runyon's of many backgrounds rebel against the moral constraints of iran's religious authorities -- capturing the subtle ways in which the iranians of many backgrounds rebel against the moral constraints of iran's religious authorities. >> the position i will spurt has been empty since the firing last month of the coach and commercial manager of the team. coming up this evening, it may be just a friendly, but when it comes to germany playing the netherlands, it is serious business. >> the our troubles will be facing off in amsterdam, and with much of the germans out because of injury, the coach is
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trying to seriously rethink his lineup. >> he may find itself in a new role. the young reader might play up front in the middle. with most of germany's regular midfield ruled out, the door is open for young talent. >> we can use this to give a chance to some other players who may be have not had this experience, who have not played much or may be not at all. in any case, i am looking forward to the game. >> the dutch national coach is not underestimating germany, even if they are not at full strength. >> that are coming here with people who have something to prove.
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they all play in the champions league, so this will not be an easy match. >> the netherlands are also missing top players, so there are a lot of questions ahead of the clash in amsterdam. one thing is for certain, though -- neither team wants to end 2012 with a loss. >> and it is almost always a dramatic faceup. >> that's right. it could get personal tonight. the former manager of bayern- munich visit team with his former players. we will see how they play in front of him. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--
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